Volunteering

Become a volunteer

Our volunteers are an integral part of the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital team. People decide to participate in our volunteer program for many different reasons, but the common element that draws our volunteers together is their love and passion for wildlife.

Many of the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital volunteers have come to the hospital as part of their work experience programs for school, university or to gain experience to help further their careers. Others decide to volunteer to find out what it's like to be a Wildlife Warrior or simply to experience a different field of work to their own, though many come just for fun as well!

While we cannot guarantee employment, the experience gained while volunteering can be beneficial in future job applications and is extremely rewarding. Many volunteers gain enormous satisfaction when seeing sick or injured wildlife rehabilitated to the stage where they are fit for release back into the wild. As part of your day, you will come into close range with an array of animals under treatment, though for their safety there is minimal hands-on contact. It is important to keep the animals in an environment which is stress-free and similar to their natural habitat, which means we only handle wildlife when it is necessary. If you would like more clarification on this, please contact the Volunteer Coordinator before you apply.

Volunteers nominate a regular day or days each week to come in. They are then added to a roster which will allow them to be placed with experienced volunteers - and the more time you are able to spend here, the more you'll learn!